Best Electrical Controller?

[Neil K]

A week ago, we were running the electric-powered locomotive. Things were fine...until a warm afternoon and a healthy train took its toll on the controller. It fried. So, I'm looking at replacing the thing with another controller (300A) and would like some opinions as to which may be the way to go. Three manufacturers come to mind; 4QD (the brand that's already in the engine), Curtis, or Kelley. Any input??

Neil

[Neil K]

After looking at the toasted 4QD control board, we couldn't determine if the failure was one of the FETs or one of the relays. We'll have to send the board back to the factory to get their prognosis. In the meantime, we settled on a Kelly controller. The order was placed and it finally arrived Friday morning. Craig (K3) worked through Friday night to get the thing wired up in time for us to take it down to White Creek for the last day of the summer meet.

There still needs to be much fiddling with the regen settings to get the ramp-up and throttle-down smooth enough that the slack isn't violently run in or out on the train. The necessary software was included with the controller and with the help of a portable laptop, at-the-track adjustments were possible.

Feels good to get back on the rails!

Neil